Despite ailing economy Ireland is still the most charitable country

The annual bestseller ‘Pocket World in Figures of 2014’ named Ireland as one of the world’s top givers. The study found that 60 percent of people in Ireland had donated to charity, given their time, or helped a stranger within a month.

‘Pocket World’ looks at a range of variables including the economy, movie nights, education, environment protection, alcohol consumption, and quality of life.

The bestseller also found that the average income per head was $47,000, which is ahead of Germany, France, and the UK, and Ireland is the 20th most expensive country to live in. Japan took the number one spot in the latter category ahead of Australia and Norway.

Ireland has the fifth highest rate of car ownership with 637 per 1,000 population. The UK has 434 per 1,000 population. Ireland has the third highest level of household debt in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is headquartered in Paris and has a membership of 34 countries.

Ireland came in second place for highest beer purchases behind the Czechs. Ireland also came in the sixth highest place for number of movie nights per head, which was higher than any other member of the European Union.